The Quiet Sin

Smoke Before Fire

The day grew weary as night took over. And arose, he did when the sudden sound of a door closing captured his attention. His eyes opened and calmly, he walked to the window to see a figure with long hair and a stolen jacket leave the house.

From the way she was walking,
he knew where she was going.

Looking in the mirror, he glanced down at the picture he had snatched from her the day before. Remembering..

~

The blazer, he left untouched as he slid on the more appropriate attire for the evening over his previous attire from the night before.

White dress shirt..

Black dress pants..

And a black vest..

His eyes longing for his black hat, his signature.. But he could only touch it. For tonight, he had no intentions of fighting..

~

Though the night was abrasive, he cared very little about himself.

Just

Her..

As he walked, he came across the place that made his lips just cry. His tongue attempting to comfort the needs of it, but it, too, was dry.

The sound of a lighter lit up his senses as he turned the corner to find the newly lit friend in the hands of another. After a brief moment of watching the smoke go dead, she tried to relight it but discovered a weight on her hand with the lighter. After a moment of staring, he began shaking his head before taking the cigarette.

"I suppose that this is also what you do for a living." He puffed. "Go out, steal jackets and money.. To come back and lay with a man in hopes of getting more money." She looked down at the jacket she wore. "I bet this is how you always get into trouble."
"What are you talking about?" He paid no mind to the woman as he took another puff of smoke.
"I think you need another set of rules."
"Rules?"
"Rule number five. If you need something, ask me first."
"What am I? A child?"
"A promiscuous, theiving child."

"Ugh! You're such a bastard!" She began to stomp away but he grabbed her arm. "Who are you?"
"The man who's letting you stay in his house. Now calm down." He said as he roughly released her. "If you wanted to smoke, you could've smoked in the house after asking for a cigarette."
"So.. I was sleeping in your house?" He didn't answer her. "How long have I been there?" He held up one finger. "How much do I owe you?" He made a zero with his fist. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because you're a troublemaker that won't stay off my turf and obviously have no one to take care of you. Everytime I would encounter you, you would be in the middle of getting beaten and I would intervene." He took another smoke.
"Is that where those bruises came from?"
"You have a terrible memory." He said, dismissing her thought.
"And I might say that you remember too much." He shrugged.
"I need a drink." He mumbled to himself as he walked away.

~

Drink as he did and upped the dosage.
"Oh. You're dressed different tonight. I almost didn't recognize you." The bartender sneered. He nodded and waited for his usual. "Why don't you just go to the store and buy the liquor?"
"You know why." He said as he took a swig.
"If you hadn't killed him, maybe you'd still be allowed back there."
"I come here because it's cheap. The prices don't change and I don't have to deal with nosey, womanizing bastards like him." Slamming down the glass, he grabbed a few other men's attention. Reaching in his pocket, the room grew still. He threw his hand on the table.

"As usual. Stay out of my business." And left.

His footsteps echoed the streets as his feet carried him all the way to 'Hellhole'.

Upon stepping inside, he greeted himself. "Welcome to hellhole."

"Why do you call it that?" He looked over at the head on the couch briefly before continuing to walk up to his room.

"I have ammesia." She blurted. He paused. Slowly turning back around a little to look at her and said,

"Cool."